KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 — Bankruptcy proceedings against Malaysians will become a last resort move if Parliament approves proposed changes to the Bankruptcy Act 1967, minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said today.

Azalina said the Bankruptcy (Amendment) Bill 2016, which was tabled for second reading at the Dewan Rakyat today, is aimed at reducing the bankruptcy rates in the country.

The proposed amendments will make bankruptcy proceedings the “last choice” instead of the first choice in any enforcement of court decisions, she said.

It will also “create an alternative method to bankruptcy proceedings before an individual is made bankrupt.”

“A bankrupt individual who fulfills the criteria for release has the potential to be released faster to stimulate the country's economic growth and development and at the same time creditors would benefit when reasonable contributions are made by debtors,” the de facto law minister said.

The proposed law changes will also simplify bankruptcy proceedings and the process of administering bankruptcy cases, she said.

The amendments will create a society that is wise in managing their finances and more responsible in paying debts owed, as well as ensure creditors are more prudent in providing facilities for loan repayment, she said.

Azalina had said the Malaysia Department of Insolvency is as of this February administering 293,086 active bankruptcy cases nationwide, with Selangor currently accounting for almost one-fifth of the country's bankrupt individuals.

“Out of the total number of bankruptcy cases, Selangor recorded the highest number of bankruptcy cases in the country with 70,817 cases,” she said when tabling amendments to the Bankruptcy Act for second reading.

Noting that 58.57 per cent of bankruptcy cases in Malaysia involve those in the 25 to 44 age group, Azalina said these figures were worrying.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 — The Bankruptcy (Amendment) Bill 2016 which was approved in the Dewan Rakyat on March 29, which among others, provide bankruptcy protection to social guarantors, was passed in Dewan Negara today.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said when winding up debate on the bill said under the amendments of the act, social guarantors cannot be declared bankrupt because they did not profit from it but guaranteed individual loans on humanitarian grounds.

“They become victims when out of sympathy they become guarantors for other people but when the borrower doesn’t pay someone else (guarantor) pays the price. The government is aware of this and believe they should no longer be penalised, so with this bill, guarantors will be protected,” she said.

However, she said the social guarantor would still be facing other legal processes to prevent them from abusing the amendments to the act.

According to Azalina, under the bill, the maximum amount for bankruptcy was raised to RM50,000 from RM30,000 previously.

She said the amount is deemed apt for the time being and could possibly be raised in future amendments.

Siti Aishah in her debate asked the government to consider giving flexibility to individuals declared bankrupt to enable them to perform the Umrah or Hajj.

“They should be given the flexibility and I hope the government will look into the matter,” she said.

Earlier, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Razali Ibrahim, when tabling the bill for second reading said the government would consider eight policy changes to amend the bill including barring action to make social guarantors bankrupt and raising the minimum for bankruptcy.

How can it refer to as "Auto Discharge" when there are conditions attached?
Read on what is "Auto Discharge on Bkcy" under Aussie laws. Swedish laws. Some laws in some states of americana is direct and clear-cut.

The worst is permission is to be obtained from ALL CREDITORS that have filed POD, not only the one that bankrupted you.

I have been bankcruptcy for the past 7 years..so this amended Law nothing different for me ?
No significant impact other than the reduction from 5 to 3 years, if you have not reported in to JIM before or have made regular consistent payments during the 5 years case management. On top of that, filing of your statement of affairs (financial part) every 6 months..!!

This wrongly term (personal interpretation) is just a ploy to keep people happy for political purposes. Elections round the corner. Even if one have been bankrupted 10 years ago and have not reported in to JIM before, one still have to report in and go thru the 3 years. And all the mandatory declarations.

Have you reported in to JIM within the time frame as specified by Bkcy Laws upon AO/RO?
Have you submit 6 monthly I & E Financial Statement?

The increase bkcy limit of 30K to 50K is just very little. Nowadays the combined debts usually exceed 100K. Locally assembled cars are getting higher and higher, so how great this 20K increase is going to make a significant impact? Prices of properties... hahaha

It is so easy for the banks to overcome the "Social Guarantor" issue.
Make another person be co-borrower with NO name on property/assets.
Sign some declarations to waive this "protection" or else no loans.

Yes.. there is some amendments after so many years.
But is it so great to hype or shout it out loud?
The financial crises is still there, many youngsters is still not prudent with their living expenses.

PUTRAJAYA: Starting next week it will take just a few touches on the smartphone to check whether one is a bankrupt, as continuous efforts are made to ease the public’s dealings with government offices.

The MyDI application, to be available from May 11, is one of the many transformation measures involving the Insolvency Depart­ment that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said has set her mind on.

The application, said the minister, will be useful, especially for those who want to know if they have been listed as a bankrupt.

“This facility will also be useful for those who wish to do a background check on their prospective employees. In fact, a father can also use the application to check if his future son-in-law is a bankrupt,” she quipped.

Speaking at the launch of the MyDI application, Azalina said the next step would be to ease the process of being discharged as a bankrupt by getting the person to fill in his application via online.

“For this procedure to be done fast, we need to shift some of the administrative ‘burden’ to the bankrupt by having all the forms filled before they meet with an officer from the department. This will significantly cut the processing time as well as red tape,” she added.

A roadshow will be held nationwide to educate the public not only on the services provided by the department but also the recent changes made to the Bankruptcy Act 2016, especially to prevent those who act as social guarantors being declared bankrupt if borrowers fail to repay their debts.

Social guarantors are defined as those who do not profit and essentially provide a guarantee for an education loan, hire-purchase transactions for personal or non-business use, or a housing loan for personal dwellings.

“We need to help those who act as social guarantors as they can’t be made responsible if the person does not pay up their study loan.

“Also, by providing automatic discharge for a person declared bankrupt three years after declaration and upon filing the statement of affairs, we are helping these people to start afresh,” said Azalina.

Existing law allows a bankrupt to apply for a court discharge only if five years have lapsed from the date the bankruptcy order was made and that, too, is subject to the creditor’s appeal.

As of February, the Insolvency Department was administrating 292,086 cases of bankruptcy.

Azalina said amendments to the Act, which took just about one year from draft to being passed by the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara, became a factor that brought together politicians from both divides.

“The Government received support from the Opposition when the amendments were tabled and debated,” she noted.

PUTRAJAYA: Members of the public can check on their bankruptcy status from May 11 via a newly-launched smartphone application, MyDI.

“The application can be downloaded from May 11.

“From then on, there is no need to visit the Insolvency Department of Malaysia to check on the status,” Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman Said told reporters after launching the application here today.

She said concerned parents could use the application to check the bankruptcy status of their future daughter-in-law or son-in-law.

It will be useful for employers to check the status of prospective employees and for financial institutions providing loans.

Azalina said the Bankruptcy (Amendment) Bill 2016 was expected to receive the consent of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V next month, and would be known as the Insolvency Act.

The Insolvency Department would also organise a Bankruptcy (Amendment) Bill 2016 tour across the country to explain the eight approved policy amendments, she said.

She said the launch of the MyDI application was the first phase of changes in the Bankruptcy Act.

“In the second phase, the public just need to fill in the form for the release (of a bankrupt status) online and go to the Insolvency Department for endorsement upon fulfilling all the requirements.”

She added that the amendments to the Bankruptcy Act would also establish a “rescue mechanism” in which public and private sector workers could go to the Insolvency Department to apply for a “rescue package”.

As of today, a total of 292,000 Malaysians have been declared bankrupt, she said.

Asked about the issue of bankruptcy among civil servants, she said the number of civil servants declared bankrupt from 2013 to March 2017 stood at 3,547.

According to Azalina, government policy states that civil servants are not allowed to obtain loans of more than 60% of their earnings.

“However, it happens when civil servants borrow money without the approval of department heads and end up in trouble after borrowing more than 60% of their earnings,” she said.